Residents of a northern B.C. town are fighting to stop federal officials from deporting the family of a dying South Korean man who says gangsters will sell his daughters into prostitution to settle a debt.

Kyu Man Jeong, his wife and their two daughters have been living for a year in a donated trailer in Fort Nelson, a town of about 4,000 residents in the northeast corner of the province.

He brought the family to Canada as refugees, saying that he owes money to Korean gangsters who have threatened to send his daughters to a brothel. [/end teaser]

What BS, I think they should be allowed to stay. Nothing is gained by sending them back.

bevvyd

#2

RE: B.C. town fights to block Korean family's deportation

Dec 14th, 2005

From what I heard on the news this morning, if the man had not been dianosed with terminal cancer their chances of being allowed to stay as a refugee were huge. I guess Immigration feels that the debts dies with the man. Wrong!

sdavachi

#3

RE: B.C. town fights to block Korean family's deportation

Jan 4th, 2006

I heard about this on the news a few weeks ago and it made me want to cry. The lack of humanity that Immigrations Canada is portraying with this is unbelievable. The idea of sending all or any of them back makes me sick; skip the itchy, bitchy politics and do the right thing. Canadian immigration policies need to be seriously reconsidered. These are people, and each case needs to be thought about and dealt with properly. Sending them, or just the daughters, back would have awful consequences, where as letting them stay would be highly beneficial for the family. I canít imagine any benefits of sending them back and I canít see any harm in granting them refugee status and allowing them to stay.

Jersay

#4

Re: B.C. town fights to block Korean family's deportation

Jan 4th, 2006

Damn immigration. They should stay!

FiveParadox

#5

Immigration Canada Requires Reform

Jan 4th, 2006

Opening Argument

In my opinion, we need some serious reform in Immigration Canada. Each case, most particularly those of persons requesting refugee status in Canada, should be considered subjectively and independently from other cases.

While we do need immigration-related regulations, they should serve as guidelines only, and Immigration Canada should not hesitate to proceed outside the scope of those regulations if the particular case warrants.

Recommendation

The Parliament of Canada should act in an expedient manner to remedy these, the concerns of what I would believe to be a majority of Canadians. I would propose that an institution be established which would have the authority to determine when a person should be granted status as a permanent resident, or as a temporary resident, as the situation may warrant, notwithstanding any current or previous rulings of Immigration Canada.

Therefore I would suggest, bearing in mind the concerns of those who have contributed and incorporating my own concerns, that the Parliament of Canada do move as soon as is reasonably possible to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in a manner at least somewhat consistent with the following:

(1) The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act is amended by adding the following Section after Section 18:

18.1. (1) There is established a commission, to be styled the Humane Refuge Commission.

(2) The Governor General may, from time to time, appoint a Commissioner to oversee and administer the Commission, and to appoint other persons, on the recommendation of the Commissioner, for the purpose of carrying out the mandate described in Subsection (3).

(3) The Commission shall, from time to time, consider a case brought before it regarding the status of a foreign national.

(4) Upon the launch of the consideration of a case, pursuant to Subsection (3) of this Section, no such foreign national shall be deported from Canada, and any existing order for deportation shall be deemed to have been stayed for the duration of such consideration.

(4.1) It shall be permissable for a foreign national to be deported from Canada, notwithstanding Subsection (4) of this Section, only where both the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness unanimously order such a deportation, and that the foreign national in question has an outstanding order for deportation that has been stayed by Subsection (4) of this Section.

(5) Where the Commission deems appropriate, the Commissioner shall order that an existing order for deportation issued by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration or through his or her Ministry be revoked.

(6) Where the Commission deems appropriate, the Commissioner shall have the authority to grant status to a foreign national as a temporary resident or as a permanent resident, as the case may warrant, or that the deportation order for such a foreign national be reinstated, as the case may warrant.

(7) A decision of the Commissioner shall not be overruled, except by the Federal Court of Appeal or by the Supreme Court, or by an explicit ordinance or Act of Parliament.

Closing Arguments

We need to be sensitive to the needs of refugees. When someone enters our country through some method not provided for in our legislative framework, or deemed unacceptable in such legislation, we should be compassionate ó I would argue that quite often, or at least some of the time, such an entry took place because, for that person in their particular case, the "legal channels" were not a viable option.

We must as a nation, in my honest opinion, embrace those requesting refugee status, and send a clear message to Immigration Canada that deporting foreign nationals without just cause and without humanitarian compassion is unacceptable, and that doing so is a practice that must be stopped at once. Canada is so much better than that.

Important Links

Access the Immigration and Refugee Board Web site by clicking here(external - login to view).